Solid lipid nanoparticles(SLN)could enhance the oral bioavailability of loaded protein and peptide drugs through lymphatic transport.Natural oligopeptides regulate nearly all vital processes and serve as a nitrogen so...Solid lipid nanoparticles(SLN)could enhance the oral bioavailability of loaded protein and peptide drugs through lymphatic transport.Natural oligopeptides regulate nearly all vital processes and serve as a nitrogen source for nourishment.They are mainly transported by oligopeptide transporter-1(PepT-1)which are primarily expressed in the intestine with the characteristics of high-capacity and low energy consumption.Our preliminary research discovered the transmembrane transport of SLN could be improved by stimulating the oligopeptide absorption pathway.This implied the potential of combining the advantages of SLN with oligopeptide transporter mediated transportation.Herein,two kinds of dipeptide modified SLN were designed with insulin and glucagon like peptide-1(GLP-1)analogue exenatide as model drugs.These drugs loaded SLN showed enhanced oral bioavailability and hypoglycemic effect in both type I diabetic C57BL/6mice and type II diabetic KKAymice.Compared with un-modified SLN,dipeptide-modified SLN could be internalized by intestinal epithelial cells via PepT-1-mediated endocytosis with higher uptake.Interestingly,after internalization,more SLN could access the systemic circulation via lymphatic transport pathway,highlighting the potential to combine the oligopeptide-absorption route with SLN for oral drug delivery.展开更多
The ocean serves as a repository for various types of artificial nanoparticles.Nanoplastics(NPs)and nano zinc oxide(nZnO),which are frequently employed in personal care products and food packaging materials,are likely...The ocean serves as a repository for various types of artificial nanoparticles.Nanoplastics(NPs)and nano zinc oxide(nZnO),which are frequently employed in personal care products and food packaging materials,are likely simultaneously released and eventually into the ocean with surface runoff.Therefore,their mutual influence and shared destiny in marine environment cannot be ignored.This study examined how nanomaterials interacted and transported through sea sand in various salinity conditions.Results showed that NPs remained dispersed in brine,while nZnO formed homoaggregates.In seawater of 35 practical salinity units(PSU),nZnO formed heteroaggregates with NPs,inhibiting NPs mobility and decreasing the recovered mass percentage(Meff)from 24.52%to 12.65%.In 3.5 PSU brackish water,nZnO did not significantly aggregate with NPs,and thus barely affected their mobility.However,NPs greatly enhanced nZnO transport with Meff increasing from 14.20%to 25.08%,attributed to the carrier effect of higher mobility NPs.Cotransport from brackishwater to seawater was simulated in salinity change experiments and revealed a critical salinity threshold of 10.4 PSU,below which the mobility of NPs was not affected by coexisting nZnO and above which nZnO strongly inhibited NP transport.This study highlights the importance of considering the mutual influence and shared destiny of artificial nanoparticles in the marine environment and how their interaction and cotransport are dependent on changes in seawater salinity.展开更多
Extreme ozone pollution events(EOPEs)are associated with synoptic weather patterns(SWPs)and pose severe health and ecological risks.However,a systematic investigation of themeteorological causes,transport pathways,and...Extreme ozone pollution events(EOPEs)are associated with synoptic weather patterns(SWPs)and pose severe health and ecological risks.However,a systematic investigation of themeteorological causes,transport pathways,and source contributions to historical EOPEs is still lacking.In this paper,the K-means clustering method is applied to identify six dominant SWPs during the warm season in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)region from 2016 to 2022.It provides an integrated analysis of the meteorological factors affecting ozone pollution in Hefei under different SWPs.Using the WRF-FLEXPART model,the transport pathways(TPPs)and geographical sources of the near-surface air masses in Hefei during EOPEs are investigated.The results reveal that Hefei experienced the highest ozone concentration(134.77±42.82μg/m^(3)),exceedance frequency(46 days(23.23%)),and proportion of EOPEs(21 instances,47.7%)under the control of peripheral subsidence of typhoon(Type 5).Regional southeast winds correlated with the ozone pollution in Hefei.During EOPEs,a high boundary layer height,solar radiation,and temperature;lowhumidity and cloud cover;and pronounced subsidence airflow occurred over Hefei and the broader YRD region.The East-South(E_S)patterns exhibited the highest frequency(28 instances,65.11%).Regarding the TPPs and geographical sources of the near-surface air masses during historical EOPEs.The YRD was the main source for land-originating air masses under E_S patterns(50.28%),with Hefei,southern Anhui,southern Jiangsu,and northern Zhejiang being key contributors.These findings can help improve ozone pollution early warning and control mechanisms at urban and regional scales.展开更多
The conventional perception of astrocytes as mere supportive cells within the brain has recently been called into question by empirical evidence, which has revealed their active involvement in regulating brain functio...The conventional perception of astrocytes as mere supportive cells within the brain has recently been called into question by empirical evidence, which has revealed their active involvement in regulating brain function and encoding behaviors associated with emotions.Specifically, astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala have been found to play a role in the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors triggered by chronic stress. Nevertheless, the precise molecular mechanisms by which basolateral amygdala astrocytes regulate chronic stress–induced anxiety-like behaviors remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we found that in a mouse model of anxiety triggered by unpredictable chronic mild stress, the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 was upregulated in the basolateral amygdala. Interestingly, our findings indicate that the targeted knockdown of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically within the basolateral amygdala astrocytes was able to rescue the anxiety-like behavior in mice subjected to stress. Furthermore, we found that the overexpression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, whether achieved through intracranial administration of excitatory amino acid transporter 2agonists or through injection of excitatory amino acid transporter 2-overexpressing viruses with GfaABC1D promoters, evoked anxiety-like behavior in mice. Our single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis further confirmed that chronic stress induced an upregulation of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically in astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala. Moreover, through in vivo calcium signal recordings, we found that the frequency of calcium activity in the basolateral amygdala of mice subjected to chronic stress was higher compared with normal mice.After knocking down the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, the frequency of calcium activity was not significantly increased, and anxiety-like behavior was obviously mitigated. Additionally, administration of an excitatory amino acid transporter 2 inhibitor in the basolateral amygdala yielded a notable reduction in anxiety level among mice subjected to stress. These results suggest that basolateral amygdala astrocytic excitatory amino acid transporter 2 plays a role in in the regulation of unpredictable chronic mild stress-induced anxiety-like behavior by impacting the activity of local glutamatergic neurons, and targeting excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala holds therapeutic promise for addressing anxiety disorders.展开更多
Particle-fluid two-phase flows in rock fractures and fracture networks play a pivotal role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing operations,a vital component in unconventional oil and...Particle-fluid two-phase flows in rock fractures and fracture networks play a pivotal role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing operations,a vital component in unconventional oil and gas extraction.Central to this phenomenon is the transport of proppants,tiny solid particles injected into the fractures to prevent them from closing once the injection is stopped.However,effective transport and deposition of proppant is critical in keeping fracture pathways open,especially in lowpermeability reservoirs.This review explores,then quantifies,the important role of fluid inertia and turbulent flows in governing proppant transport.While traditional models predominantly assume and then characterise flow as laminar,this may not accurately capture the complexities inherent in realworld hydraulic fracturing and proppant emplacement.Recent investigations highlight the paramount importance of fluid inertia,especially at the high Reynolds numbers typically associated with fracturing operations.Fluid inertia,often overlooked,introduces crucial forces that influence particle settling velocities,particle-particle interactions,and the eventual deposition of proppants within fractures.With their inherent eddies and transient and chaotic nature,turbulent flows introduce additional complexities to proppant transport,crucially altering proppant settling velocities and dispersion patterns.The following comprehensive survey of experimental,numerical,and analytical studies elucidates controls on the intricate dynamics of proppant transport under fluid inertia and turbulence-towards providing a holistic understanding of the current state-of-the-art,guiding future research directions,and optimising hydraulic fracturing practices.展开更多
Sucrose transporters(SUTs)play a crucial role in carbon allocation from the source leaf to the sink end,and the function of SUTs varies among family members.However,the genome-wide identifcation of the SUT superfamily...Sucrose transporters(SUTs)play a crucial role in carbon allocation from the source leaf to the sink end,and the function of SUTs varies among family members.However,the genome-wide identifcation of the SUT superfamily in Camellia oleifera is lacking,and their biological function remains elusive.In this study,four SUT genes-designated Co SUT1-4-were identifed in C.oleifera through a genome-wide analysis and classifed into three subfamilies.We used a combination of cis-acting elements analysis,mRNA quantifcation,histochemical analysis,and heterologous transformation to evaluate the expression profiles and functions of these SUTs.A key finding is that CoSUT4,localized on the plasma membrane,is highly expressed in mature leaves and the early stage of seed development in C.oleifera.In vitro culture of C.oleifera seed revealed the responsiveness of CoSUT4 to various exogenous hormones such as ABA and GA.CoSUT4 was able to restore the growth of the yeast strain SUSY7/ura3(a sucrose transport-defcient mutant)on sucrose-containing media and specifcally contributed to sucrose translocation and tissue growth in CoSUT4-overexpressed apple calli.In situ hybridization identifed chalazal nucellus and transfer cells as the action sites of CoSUT4 at the maternal-flial interface mediating sucrose transportation in oil tea seeds.CoSUT4 overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana atsuc4 mutant restored the growth and seed yield defciencies of the mutant,leading to an increase in flled seeds and oil content.Additionally,CoSUT4 overexpression enhanced the drought and salt stress tolerance by augmenting sugar content.Overall,these fndings provide valuable insights into the function of SUTs and present promising candidates for the genetic enhancement of seed production in C.oleifera.展开更多
Although air pollutant emissions have sharply reduced in recent years,the occurrence of PM_(2.5) pollution events remains an intractable environmental problem in Beijing,and regional transport is the key influence fac...Although air pollutant emissions have sharply reduced in recent years,the occurrence of PM_(2.5) pollution events remains an intractable environmental problem in Beijing,and regional transport is the key influence factor.However,it has been difficult to identify regional transport characteristics and the main contributors to pollution events in recent years.In this study,the relative contribution of regional transport was quantified(61.3%)in PM_(2.5) pollution events during 2018-2021 by the Community Multiscale Air Quality model embedded with the Integrated Source Apportionment Model(CMAQ-ISAM).The four regions with the largest fractional contributions to Beijing for all events were Shandong(7.7%),South Hebei(7.3%),Baoding(6.2%),and Langfang(5.8%).Pollution events were classified into the following types based on regional transport directions:local,southwest(SW),southeast(SE),south-mixed(SM),and others.Based on the transport distance,the SW,SE,and SM types can be subdivided into SW-short,SW-long,SE-short,SE-long,SM-short,SM-long distance from southwest,SM-long distance from southeast,and SM-long distance from southwest and southeast.SE-long was regarded as the most important type,with the highest relative frequency(20%).The transport directions were related to the southwest wind at 925 hPa and southeast wind at 1000 hPa in the south of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei(BTH)region,and the distance was mainly controlled by wind strength.The wind-field difference can be attributed to the low-pressure and high-pressure systems that control the BTH region.The results suggest that regional joint pollution control should be optimized based on the transport type.展开更多
Composite solid electrolytes(CSEs)are considered among the most promising candidates for solid-state batteries.However,their practical application is hindered by low ionic conductivity and a limited lithium-ion transf...Composite solid electrolytes(CSEs)are considered among the most promising candidates for solid-state batteries.However,their practical application is hindered by low ionic conductivity and a limited lithium-ion transference number,primarily owing to the insufficient mobility of Li+.In this work,we design a heterojunc-tion nanoparticle composed of bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks(ZIFs)coupled with amorphous tita-nium oxide(TiO_(2)@Zn/Co–ZIF)as a filler to fabricate a composite solid-state electrolyte(PVZT).The amor-phous TiO_(2) coating facilitates salt dissociation through Lewis acid–base interactions with the anions of the lithium salt.Meanwhile,the Zn/Co–ZIF framework not only provides additional selective pathways for Li+transport but also effectively restricts anion migration through its confined pore size.The synergistic effect results in a high room-temperature ionic conductivity(8.8×10^(-4) S·cm^(-1))and a lithium-ion transference number of 0.47 for PVZT.A symmetrical cell using PVZT demonstrates stable Li+deposition/stripping for over 1100 h at a current density of 0.1 mA·cm^(-2).Additionally,a LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_(2)/Li full cell using PVZT retains 75.0%of its capacity after 1200 cycles at a 2 C rate.This work offers valuable insights into the design of func-tional fillers for CSEs with highly efficient ion transport.展开更多
The Janus fabrics designed for personal moisture/thermal regulation have garnered significant attention for their potential to enhance human comfort.However,the development of smart and dynamic fabrics capable of mana...The Janus fabrics designed for personal moisture/thermal regulation have garnered significant attention for their potential to enhance human comfort.However,the development of smart and dynamic fabrics capable of managing personal moisture/thermal comfort in response to changing external environments remains a challenge.Herein,a smart cellulose-based Janus fabric was designed to dynamically manage personal moisture/heat.The cotton fabric was grafted with N-isopropylacrylamide to construct a temperature-stimulated transport channel.Subsequently,hydrophobic ethyl cellulose and hydrophilic cellulose nanofiber were sprayed on the bottom and top sides of the fabric to obtain wettability gradient.The fabric exhibits anti-gravity directional liquid transportation from hydrophobic side to hydrophilic side,and can dynamically and continuously control the transportation time in a wide range of 3–66 s as the temperature increases from 10 to 40℃.This smart fabric can quickly dissipate heat at high temperatures,while at low temperatures,it can slow down the heat dissipation rate and prevent the human from becoming too cold.In addition,the fabric has UV shielding and photodynamic antibacterial properties through depositing graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets on the hydrophilic side.This smart fabric offers an innovative approach to maximizing personal comfort in environments with significant temperature variations.展开更多
The transition of hydrogen sourcing from carbon-intensive to water-based methodologies is underway,with renewable energy-powered proton exchange membrane water electrolysis(PEMWE)emerging as the preeminent pathway for...The transition of hydrogen sourcing from carbon-intensive to water-based methodologies is underway,with renewable energy-powered proton exchange membrane water electrolysis(PEMWE)emerging as the preeminent pathway for hydrogen production.Despite remarkable advancements in this field,confronting the sluggish electrochemical kinetics and inherent high-energy consumption arising from deteriorated mass transport within PEMWE systems remains a formidable obstacle.This impediment stems primarily from the hindered protons mass transfer and the untimely hydrogen bubbles detachment.To address these challenges,we harness the inherent variability of electrical energy and introduce an innovative pulsed dynamic water electrolysis system.Compared to constant voltage electrolysis(hydrogen production rate:51.6 m L h^(-1),energy consumption:5.37 kWh Nm-^(3)H_(2)),this strategy(hydrogen production rate:66 m L h^(-1),energy consumption:3.83 kWh Nm-^(3)H_(2))increases the hydrogen production rate by approximately 27%and reduces the energy consumption by about 28%.Furthermore,we demonstrate the practicality of this system by integrating it with an off-grid photovoltaic(PV)system designed for outdoor operation,successfully driving a hydrogen production current of up to 500 mA under an average voltage of approximately 2 V.The combined results of in-situ characterization and finite element analysis reveal the performance enhancement mechanism:pulsed dynamic electrolysis(PDE)dramatically accelerates the enrichment of protons at the electrode/solution interface and facilitates the release of bubbles on the electrode surface.As such,PDE-enhanced PEMWE represents a synergistic advancement,concurrently enhancing both the hydrogen generation reaction and associated transport processes.This promising technology not only redefines the landscape of electrolysis-based hydrogen production but also holds immense potential for broadening its application across a diverse spectrum of electrocatalytic endeavors.展开更多
Adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-binding cassette(ABC)transporter systems are divided into importers and exporters that facilitate the movement of diverse substrate molecules across the lipid bilayer,against the concentrat...Adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-binding cassette(ABC)transporter systems are divided into importers and exporters that facilitate the movement of diverse substrate molecules across the lipid bilayer,against the concentration gradient.These transporters comprise two highly conserved nucleotide-binding domains(NBDs)and two transmembrane domains(TMDs).Unlike ABC exporters,prokaryotic ABC importers require an additional substrate-binding protein(SBP)as a recognition site for specific substrate translocation.The discovery of a large number of ABC systems in bacterial pathogens revealed that these transporters are crucial for the establishment of bacterial infections.The existing literature has highlighted the roles of ABC transporters in bacterial growth,pathogenesis,and virulence.These roles include importing essential nutrients required for a variety of cellular processes and exporting outer membrane-associated virulence factors and antimicrobial substances.This review outlines the general structures and classification of ABC systems to provide a comprehensive view of the activities and roles of ABC transporters associated with bacterial virulence and pathogenesis during infection.展开更多
Understanding the proton dynamic behavior in inorganic materials has long been a topic of intense fascination[1],especially in the field of electrochemical energy storage[2].One of the examples is the research of prot...Understanding the proton dynamic behavior in inorganic materials has long been a topic of intense fascination[1],especially in the field of electrochemical energy storage[2].One of the examples is the research of proton transport in transition metal oxides,which dates back to 1971[3]when RuO_(2) was discovered to be capable of storing protons via reversible redox reactions[4].In aqueous electrolytes,the thin film RuO_(2) electrode exhibits a surface pseudocapacitive behavior[5],which could be modified by the structural water in its hydrated form due to the facile Grotthuss hopping mode of protons along the established hydrogen bonds inside the bulk phase[6].Soon later,Goodenough et al.reported the capacitor-like behavior of amorphous MnO_(2)·xH_(2)O electrode in an aqueous KCl electrolyte[7],and further studies on the hydrated MnO_(2) electrodes prepared by sol-gel processes have soon discovered that the intercalation of protons from aqueous electrolytes plays an indispensable role in the charge storage mechanism[8].In recent years,the research interest on rechargeable aqueous batteries has fueled the renaissance of mechanistic study of proton transport in transition metal oxides[9],which can operate as cathodes or anodes via a topotactic insertion mechanism similar to that in Li-ion batteries[10].However,due to the challenges for experimental detection of local chemical environments of the inserted protons,a comprehensive understanding of proton dynamic behavior in these electrodes remains largely lacking.展开更多
Facilitated transport membranes for post-combustion carbon capture are one of the technologies to achieve efficient and large-scale capture.The central principle is to utilize the affinity of CO_(2) for the carrier to...Facilitated transport membranes for post-combustion carbon capture are one of the technologies to achieve efficient and large-scale capture.The central principle is to utilize the affinity of CO_(2) for the carrier to achieve efficient separation and to break the Robson upper bound.This paper reviews the progress of facilitated transport membranes research regarding polymer materials,principles,and problems faced at this stage.Firstly,we briefly introduce the transport mechanism of the facilitated transport membranes.Then the research progress of several major polymers used for facilitated transport membranes for CO_(2)/N_(2) separation was presented in the past five years.Additionally,we analyze the primary challenges of facilitated transport membranes,including the influence of water,the effect of temperature,the saturation effect of the carrier,and the process configuration.Finally,we also delve into the challenges and competitiveness of facilitated transport membranes.展开更多
Thedeployment of the Internet of Things(IoT)with smart sensors has facilitated the emergence of fog computing as an important technology for delivering services to smart environments such as campuses,smart cities,and ...Thedeployment of the Internet of Things(IoT)with smart sensors has facilitated the emergence of fog computing as an important technology for delivering services to smart environments such as campuses,smart cities,and smart transportation systems.Fog computing tackles a range of challenges,including processing,storage,bandwidth,latency,and reliability,by locally distributing secure information through end nodes.Consisting of endpoints,fog nodes,and back-end cloud infrastructure,it provides advanced capabilities beyond traditional cloud computing.In smart environments,particularly within smart city transportation systems,the abundance of devices and nodes poses significant challenges related to power consumption and system reliability.To address the challenges of latency,energy consumption,and fault tolerance in these environments,this paper proposes a latency-aware,faulttolerant framework for resource scheduling and data management,referred to as the FORD framework,for smart cities in fog environments.This framework is designed to meet the demands of time-sensitive applications,such as those in smart transportation systems.The FORD framework incorporates latency-aware resource scheduling to optimize task execution in smart city environments,leveraging resources from both fog and cloud environments.Through simulation-based executions,tasks are allocated to the nearest available nodes with minimum latency.In the event of execution failure,a fault-tolerantmechanism is employed to ensure the successful completion of tasks.Upon successful execution,data is efficiently stored in the cloud data center,ensuring data integrity and reliability within the smart city ecosystem.展开更多
BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)is an aggressive lethal malignancy with limited options for treatment and a 5-year survival rate of 11%in the United States.As for other types of tumors,such as colorec...BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)is an aggressive lethal malignancy with limited options for treatment and a 5-year survival rate of 11%in the United States.As for other types of tumors,such as colorectal cancer,aberrant de novo lipid synthesis and reprogrammed lipid metabolism have been suggested to be associated with PDAC development and progression.AIM To identify the possible involvement of lipid metabolism in PDAC by analyzing in tumoral and non-tumoral tissues the expression level of the most relevant genes involved in the long-chain fatty acid(FA)import into cell.METHODS A gene expression analysis of FASN,CD36,SLC27A1,SLC27A2,SLC27A3,SLC27A4,SLC27A5,ACSL1,and ACSL3 was performed by qRT-PCR in 24 tumoral PDAC tissues and 11 samples from non-tumoral pancreatic tissues obtained via fine needle aspiration or via surgical resection.The genes were considered significantly dysregulated between the groups when the p value was<0.05 and the fold change(FC)was≤0.5 and≥2.RESULTS We found that three FA transporters and two long-chain acyl-CoA synthetases genes were significantly upregulated in the PDAC tissue compared to the non-tumoral tissue:SLC27A2(FC=5.66;P=0.033),SLC27A3(FC=2.68;P=0.040),SLC27A4(FC=3.13;P=0.033),ACSL1(FC=4.10;P<0.001),and ACSL3(FC=2.67;P=0.012).We further investigated any possible association between the levels of the analyzed mRNAs and the specific characteristics of the tumors,including the anatomic location,the lymph node involvement,and the presence of metastasis.A significant difference in the expression of SLC27A3(FC=3.28;P=0.040)was found comparing patients with and without lymph nodes involvement with an overexpression of this transcript in 17 patients presenting tumoral cells in the lymph nodes.CONCLUSION Despite the low number of patients analyzed,these preliminary results seem to be promising.Addressing lipid metabolism through a broad strategy could be a beneficial way to treat this malignancy.Future in vitro and in vivo studies on these genes may offer important insights into the mechanisms linking PDAC with the long-chain FA import pathway.展开更多
In addition to the loss of motor function,~60% of patients develop pain after spinal cord injury.The cellular-molecular mechanisms are not well understood,but the data suggests that plasticity within the rostral,epice...In addition to the loss of motor function,~60% of patients develop pain after spinal cord injury.The cellular-molecular mechanisms are not well understood,but the data suggests that plasticity within the rostral,epicenter,and caudal penumbra of the injury site initiates a cellularmolecular interplay that acts as a rewiring mechanism leading to central neuropathic pain.Sprouting can lead to the formation of new connections triggering abnormal sensory transmission.The excitatory glutamate transporters are responsible for the reuptake of extracellular glutamate which makes them a critical target to prevent neuronal hyperexcitability and excitotoxicity.Our previous studies showed a sexually dimorphic therapeutic window for spinal cord injury after treatment with the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen.In this study,we investigated the anti-allodynic effects of tamoxifen in male and female rats with spinal cord injury.We hypothesized that tamoxifen exerts anti-allodynic effects by increasing the expression of glutamate transporters,leading to reduced hyperexcitability of the secondary neuron or by decreasing aberrant sprouting.Male and female rats received a moderate contusion to the thoracic spinal cord followed by subcutaneous slow-release treatment of tamoxifen or matrix pellets as a control(placebo).We used von Frey monofilaments and the“up-down method”to evaluate mechanical allodynia.Tamoxifen treatment decreased allodynia only in female rats with spinal cord injury revealing a sexdependent effect.The expression profile of glutamatergic transporters(excitatory amino acid transporter 1/glutamate aspartate transporter and excitatory amino acid transporter 2/glutamate transporter-1)revealed a sexual dimorphism in the rostral,epicenter,and caudal areas of the spinal cord with a pattern of expression primarily on astrocytes.Female rodents showed a significantly higher level of excitatory amino acid transporter-1 expression while male rodents showed increased excitatory amino acid transporter-2 expression compared with female rodents.Analyses of peptidergic(calcitonin gene-related peptide-α)and non-peptidergic(isolectin B4)fibers outgrowth in the dorsal horn after spinal cord injury showed an increased calcitonin gene-related peptide-α/isolectin B4 ratio in comparison with sham,suggesting increased receptive fields in the dorsal horn.Although the behavioral assay shows decreased allodynia in tamoxifen-treated female rats,this was not associated with overexpression of glutamate transporters or alterations in the dorsal horn laminae fibers at 28 days post-injury.Our findings provide new evidence of the sexually dimorphic expression of glutamate transporters in the spinal cord.The dimorphic expression revealed in this study provides a therapeutic opportunity for treating chronic pain,an area with a critical need for treatment.展开更多
In this work,we present a parallel implementation of radiation hydrodynamics coupled with particle transport,utilizing software infrastructure JASMIN(J Adaptive Structured Meshes applications INfrastructure)which enca...In this work,we present a parallel implementation of radiation hydrodynamics coupled with particle transport,utilizing software infrastructure JASMIN(J Adaptive Structured Meshes applications INfrastructure)which encapsulates high-performance technology for the numerical simulation of complex applications.Two serial codes,radiation hydrodynamics RH2D and particle transport Sn2D,have been integrated into RHSn2D on JASMIN infrastructure,which can efficiently use thousands of processors to simulate the complex multi-physics phenomena.Moreover,the non-conforming processors strategy has ensured RHSn2D against the serious load imbalance between radiation hydrodynamics and particle transport for large scale parallel simulations.Numerical results show that RHSn2D achieves a parallel efficiency of 17.1%using 90720 cells on 8192 processors compared with 256 processors in the same problem.展开更多
Lithium-oxygen batteries attract considerable attention due to exceptionally high theoretical energy density,while the development remains in its early stage.As is widely suggested,the solution mechanism induces great...Lithium-oxygen batteries attract considerable attention due to exceptionally high theoretical energy density,while the development remains in its early stage.As is widely suggested,the solution mechanism induces greater discharge capacity,while the surface mechanism induces greater cycle stability.Therefore,battery performance can be improved by adjusting the reaction mechanism.Previous studies predominantly focus on extremely thin or flat electrodes.In contrast,this work utilizes thick electrodes,emphasizing the importance of mass transport.Given that the electrolyte solvent is the main site of mass transport,the effects of two typical solvents on mass transport and battery performance are investigated:dimethyl sulfoxide with low viscosity and a high O_(2) diffusion rate and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether with high O_(2) solubility and high Li+transport capability.The results reveal a novel pathway for reaction mechanism induction where the mechanism varies with the spatial position of the electrode.As the spatial distribution of the electrode progresses,a layered appearance of solution mechanism products,transition state products,and surface mechanism products emerges,which is attributed to the increase in the mass transfer resistance.This work presents a distinct perspective on the way solvents influence reaction pathways and offers a new approach to regulating reaction pathways.展开更多
Mesoporous carbon supports mitigate platinum(Pt)sulfonic poisoning through nanopore-confined Pt deposition,yet their morphological impacts on oxygen transport remain unclear.This study integrates carbon support morpho...Mesoporous carbon supports mitigate platinum(Pt)sulfonic poisoning through nanopore-confined Pt deposition,yet their morphological impacts on oxygen transport remain unclear.This study integrates carbon support morphology simulation with an enhanced agglomerate model to establish a mathematical framework elucidating pore evolution,Pt utilization,and oxygen transport in catalyst layers.Results demonstrate dominant local mass transport resistance governed by three factors:(1)active site density dictating oxygen flux;(2)ionomer film thickness defining shortest transport path;(3)ionomer-to-Pt surface area ratio modulating practical pathway length.At low ionomer-to-carbon(I/C)ratios,limited active sites elevate resistance(Factor 1 dominant).Higher I/C ratios improve the ionomer coverage but eventually thicken ionomer films,degrading transport(Factors 2–3 dominant).The results indicate that larger carbon particles result in a net increase in local transport resistance by reducing external surface area and increasing ionomer thickness.As the proportion of Pt situated in nanopores or the Pt mass fraction increases,elevated Pt density inside the nanopores exacerbates pore blockage.This leads to the increased transport resistance by reducing active sites,and increasing ionomer thickness and surface area.Lower Pt loading linearly intensifies oxygen flux resistance.The model underscores the necessity to optimize support morphology,Pt distribution,and ionomer content to prevent pore blockage while balancing catalytic activity and transport efficiency.These insights provide a systematic approach for designing high-performance mesoporous carbon catalysts.展开更多
In this paper,we prove the transportation cost-information inequalities on the space of continuous paths with respect to the L~2-metric and the uniform metric for the law of the mild solution to the stochastic heat eq...In this paper,we prove the transportation cost-information inequalities on the space of continuous paths with respect to the L~2-metric and the uniform metric for the law of the mild solution to the stochastic heat equation defined on[0,T]×[0,1]driven by double-parameter fractional noise.展开更多
基金supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2021YFE0115200)the Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U22A20356).
文摘Solid lipid nanoparticles(SLN)could enhance the oral bioavailability of loaded protein and peptide drugs through lymphatic transport.Natural oligopeptides regulate nearly all vital processes and serve as a nitrogen source for nourishment.They are mainly transported by oligopeptide transporter-1(PepT-1)which are primarily expressed in the intestine with the characteristics of high-capacity and low energy consumption.Our preliminary research discovered the transmembrane transport of SLN could be improved by stimulating the oligopeptide absorption pathway.This implied the potential of combining the advantages of SLN with oligopeptide transporter mediated transportation.Herein,two kinds of dipeptide modified SLN were designed with insulin and glucagon like peptide-1(GLP-1)analogue exenatide as model drugs.These drugs loaded SLN showed enhanced oral bioavailability and hypoglycemic effect in both type I diabetic C57BL/6mice and type II diabetic KKAymice.Compared with un-modified SLN,dipeptide-modified SLN could be internalized by intestinal epithelial cells via PepT-1-mediated endocytosis with higher uptake.Interestingly,after internalization,more SLN could access the systemic circulation via lymphatic transport pathway,highlighting the potential to combine the oligopeptide-absorption route with SLN for oral drug delivery.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.22176148)the Shanghai Rising-Star Program (No.23QB1406400)+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Tongji University (No.2023-3-ZD-02)supported by the program INTPART (Plastic Pollution,No.275172)funded by the Research Council of Norway.
文摘The ocean serves as a repository for various types of artificial nanoparticles.Nanoplastics(NPs)and nano zinc oxide(nZnO),which are frequently employed in personal care products and food packaging materials,are likely simultaneously released and eventually into the ocean with surface runoff.Therefore,their mutual influence and shared destiny in marine environment cannot be ignored.This study examined how nanomaterials interacted and transported through sea sand in various salinity conditions.Results showed that NPs remained dispersed in brine,while nZnO formed homoaggregates.In seawater of 35 practical salinity units(PSU),nZnO formed heteroaggregates with NPs,inhibiting NPs mobility and decreasing the recovered mass percentage(Meff)from 24.52%to 12.65%.In 3.5 PSU brackish water,nZnO did not significantly aggregate with NPs,and thus barely affected their mobility.However,NPs greatly enhanced nZnO transport with Meff increasing from 14.20%to 25.08%,attributed to the carrier effect of higher mobility NPs.Cotransport from brackishwater to seawater was simulated in salinity change experiments and revealed a critical salinity threshold of 10.4 PSU,below which the mobility of NPs was not affected by coexisting nZnO and above which nZnO strongly inhibited NP transport.This study highlights the importance of considering the mutual influence and shared destiny of artificial nanoparticles in the marine environment and how their interaction and cotransport are dependent on changes in seawater salinity.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.U19A2044,42105132,42030609,and 41975037)the National Key Research and Development Programof China(No.2022YFC3700303).
文摘Extreme ozone pollution events(EOPEs)are associated with synoptic weather patterns(SWPs)and pose severe health and ecological risks.However,a systematic investigation of themeteorological causes,transport pathways,and source contributions to historical EOPEs is still lacking.In this paper,the K-means clustering method is applied to identify six dominant SWPs during the warm season in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)region from 2016 to 2022.It provides an integrated analysis of the meteorological factors affecting ozone pollution in Hefei under different SWPs.Using the WRF-FLEXPART model,the transport pathways(TPPs)and geographical sources of the near-surface air masses in Hefei during EOPEs are investigated.The results reveal that Hefei experienced the highest ozone concentration(134.77±42.82μg/m^(3)),exceedance frequency(46 days(23.23%)),and proportion of EOPEs(21 instances,47.7%)under the control of peripheral subsidence of typhoon(Type 5).Regional southeast winds correlated with the ozone pollution in Hefei.During EOPEs,a high boundary layer height,solar radiation,and temperature;lowhumidity and cloud cover;and pronounced subsidence airflow occurred over Hefei and the broader YRD region.The East-South(E_S)patterns exhibited the highest frequency(28 instances,65.11%).Regarding the TPPs and geographical sources of the near-surface air masses during historical EOPEs.The YRD was the main source for land-originating air masses under E_S patterns(50.28%),with Hefei,southern Anhui,southern Jiangsu,and northern Zhejiang being key contributors.These findings can help improve ozone pollution early warning and control mechanisms at urban and regional scales.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,Nos.32371070 (to JT),31761163005 (to JT),32100824 (to QX)the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program,Nos.RCBS20210609104606024 (to QX),JCY20210324101813035 (to DL)+4 种基金the Guangdong Provincial Key S&T Program,No.2018B030336001 (to JT)the Key Basic Research Program of Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission,Nos.JCYJ20200109115405930 (to JT),JCYJ20220818101615033 (to DL),JCYJ20210324115811031 (to QX),JCYJ20200109150717745 (to QX)Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Neuroimmunomodulation for Neurological Diseases,No.ZDSYS20220304163558001 (to JT)Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior,No.2023B1212060055 (to JT)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation,No.2021M693298 (to QX)。
文摘The conventional perception of astrocytes as mere supportive cells within the brain has recently been called into question by empirical evidence, which has revealed their active involvement in regulating brain function and encoding behaviors associated with emotions.Specifically, astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala have been found to play a role in the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors triggered by chronic stress. Nevertheless, the precise molecular mechanisms by which basolateral amygdala astrocytes regulate chronic stress–induced anxiety-like behaviors remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we found that in a mouse model of anxiety triggered by unpredictable chronic mild stress, the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 was upregulated in the basolateral amygdala. Interestingly, our findings indicate that the targeted knockdown of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically within the basolateral amygdala astrocytes was able to rescue the anxiety-like behavior in mice subjected to stress. Furthermore, we found that the overexpression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, whether achieved through intracranial administration of excitatory amino acid transporter 2agonists or through injection of excitatory amino acid transporter 2-overexpressing viruses with GfaABC1D promoters, evoked anxiety-like behavior in mice. Our single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis further confirmed that chronic stress induced an upregulation of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically in astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala. Moreover, through in vivo calcium signal recordings, we found that the frequency of calcium activity in the basolateral amygdala of mice subjected to chronic stress was higher compared with normal mice.After knocking down the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, the frequency of calcium activity was not significantly increased, and anxiety-like behavior was obviously mitigated. Additionally, administration of an excitatory amino acid transporter 2 inhibitor in the basolateral amygdala yielded a notable reduction in anxiety level among mice subjected to stress. These results suggest that basolateral amygdala astrocytic excitatory amino acid transporter 2 plays a role in in the regulation of unpredictable chronic mild stress-induced anxiety-like behavior by impacting the activity of local glutamatergic neurons, and targeting excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala holds therapeutic promise for addressing anxiety disorders.
基金the Australian Research Council Discovery Project(ARC DP 220100851)scheme and would acknowledge that.
文摘Particle-fluid two-phase flows in rock fractures and fracture networks play a pivotal role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing operations,a vital component in unconventional oil and gas extraction.Central to this phenomenon is the transport of proppants,tiny solid particles injected into the fractures to prevent them from closing once the injection is stopped.However,effective transport and deposition of proppant is critical in keeping fracture pathways open,especially in lowpermeability reservoirs.This review explores,then quantifies,the important role of fluid inertia and turbulent flows in governing proppant transport.While traditional models predominantly assume and then characterise flow as laminar,this may not accurately capture the complexities inherent in realworld hydraulic fracturing and proppant emplacement.Recent investigations highlight the paramount importance of fluid inertia,especially at the high Reynolds numbers typically associated with fracturing operations.Fluid inertia,often overlooked,introduces crucial forces that influence particle settling velocities,particle-particle interactions,and the eventual deposition of proppants within fractures.With their inherent eddies and transient and chaotic nature,turbulent flows introduce additional complexities to proppant transport,crucially altering proppant settling velocities and dispersion patterns.The following comprehensive survey of experimental,numerical,and analytical studies elucidates controls on the intricate dynamics of proppant transport under fluid inertia and turbulence-towards providing a holistic understanding of the current state-of-the-art,guiding future research directions,and optimising hydraulic fracturing practices.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32071798)5·5 Engineering Research&Innovation Team Project of Beijing Forestry University,China(BLRC2023B08)。
文摘Sucrose transporters(SUTs)play a crucial role in carbon allocation from the source leaf to the sink end,and the function of SUTs varies among family members.However,the genome-wide identifcation of the SUT superfamily in Camellia oleifera is lacking,and their biological function remains elusive.In this study,four SUT genes-designated Co SUT1-4-were identifed in C.oleifera through a genome-wide analysis and classifed into three subfamilies.We used a combination of cis-acting elements analysis,mRNA quantifcation,histochemical analysis,and heterologous transformation to evaluate the expression profiles and functions of these SUTs.A key finding is that CoSUT4,localized on the plasma membrane,is highly expressed in mature leaves and the early stage of seed development in C.oleifera.In vitro culture of C.oleifera seed revealed the responsiveness of CoSUT4 to various exogenous hormones such as ABA and GA.CoSUT4 was able to restore the growth of the yeast strain SUSY7/ura3(a sucrose transport-defcient mutant)on sucrose-containing media and specifcally contributed to sucrose translocation and tissue growth in CoSUT4-overexpressed apple calli.In situ hybridization identifed chalazal nucellus and transfer cells as the action sites of CoSUT4 at the maternal-flial interface mediating sucrose transportation in oil tea seeds.CoSUT4 overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana atsuc4 mutant restored the growth and seed yield defciencies of the mutant,leading to an increase in flled seeds and oil content.Additionally,CoSUT4 overexpression enhanced the drought and salt stress tolerance by augmenting sugar content.Overall,these fndings provide valuable insights into the function of SUTs and present promising candidates for the genetic enhancement of seed production in C.oleifera.
基金supported by the National Key R&D program of China(No.2022YFC3703404)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22188102)the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.
文摘Although air pollutant emissions have sharply reduced in recent years,the occurrence of PM_(2.5) pollution events remains an intractable environmental problem in Beijing,and regional transport is the key influence factor.However,it has been difficult to identify regional transport characteristics and the main contributors to pollution events in recent years.In this study,the relative contribution of regional transport was quantified(61.3%)in PM_(2.5) pollution events during 2018-2021 by the Community Multiscale Air Quality model embedded with the Integrated Source Apportionment Model(CMAQ-ISAM).The four regions with the largest fractional contributions to Beijing for all events were Shandong(7.7%),South Hebei(7.3%),Baoding(6.2%),and Langfang(5.8%).Pollution events were classified into the following types based on regional transport directions:local,southwest(SW),southeast(SE),south-mixed(SM),and others.Based on the transport distance,the SW,SE,and SM types can be subdivided into SW-short,SW-long,SE-short,SE-long,SM-short,SM-long distance from southwest,SM-long distance from southeast,and SM-long distance from southwest and southeast.SE-long was regarded as the most important type,with the highest relative frequency(20%).The transport directions were related to the southwest wind at 925 hPa and southeast wind at 1000 hPa in the south of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei(BTH)region,and the distance was mainly controlled by wind strength.The wind-field difference can be attributed to the low-pressure and high-pressure systems that control the BTH region.The results suggest that regional joint pollution control should be optimized based on the transport type.
基金supported by National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars(Grant No.52325206)National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2021YFF0500600)+3 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.U2001220 and 52203298)Shenzhen Technical Plan Project(Grant Nos.RCJC20200714114436091,JCYJ20220530143012027,JCYJ20220818101003008,and JCYJ20220818101003007)Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School-Shenzhen Pengrui Young Faculty Program of Shenzhen Pengrui Foundation(Grant No.SZPR2023006)Shenzhen Science and Technology Program(Grant No.WDZC20231126160733001).
文摘Composite solid electrolytes(CSEs)are considered among the most promising candidates for solid-state batteries.However,their practical application is hindered by low ionic conductivity and a limited lithium-ion transference number,primarily owing to the insufficient mobility of Li+.In this work,we design a heterojunc-tion nanoparticle composed of bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks(ZIFs)coupled with amorphous tita-nium oxide(TiO_(2)@Zn/Co–ZIF)as a filler to fabricate a composite solid-state electrolyte(PVZT).The amor-phous TiO_(2) coating facilitates salt dissociation through Lewis acid–base interactions with the anions of the lithium salt.Meanwhile,the Zn/Co–ZIF framework not only provides additional selective pathways for Li+transport but also effectively restricts anion migration through its confined pore size.The synergistic effect results in a high room-temperature ionic conductivity(8.8×10^(-4) S·cm^(-1))and a lithium-ion transference number of 0.47 for PVZT.A symmetrical cell using PVZT demonstrates stable Li+deposition/stripping for over 1100 h at a current density of 0.1 mA·cm^(-2).Additionally,a LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_(2)/Li full cell using PVZT retains 75.0%of its capacity after 1200 cycles at a 2 C rate.This work offers valuable insights into the design of func-tional fillers for CSEs with highly efficient ion transport.
基金support of this work by National Key Research and Development Program of China(2019YFC19059003)the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China(23KJB430024)+1 种基金Jiangsu Funding Program for Excellent Postdoctoral Talent(2023ZB680)Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD)are gratefully acknowledged.
文摘The Janus fabrics designed for personal moisture/thermal regulation have garnered significant attention for their potential to enhance human comfort.However,the development of smart and dynamic fabrics capable of managing personal moisture/thermal comfort in response to changing external environments remains a challenge.Herein,a smart cellulose-based Janus fabric was designed to dynamically manage personal moisture/heat.The cotton fabric was grafted with N-isopropylacrylamide to construct a temperature-stimulated transport channel.Subsequently,hydrophobic ethyl cellulose and hydrophilic cellulose nanofiber were sprayed on the bottom and top sides of the fabric to obtain wettability gradient.The fabric exhibits anti-gravity directional liquid transportation from hydrophobic side to hydrophilic side,and can dynamically and continuously control the transportation time in a wide range of 3–66 s as the temperature increases from 10 to 40℃.This smart fabric can quickly dissipate heat at high temperatures,while at low temperatures,it can slow down the heat dissipation rate and prevent the human from becoming too cold.In addition,the fabric has UV shielding and photodynamic antibacterial properties through depositing graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets on the hydrophilic side.This smart fabric offers an innovative approach to maximizing personal comfort in environments with significant temperature variations.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52476192,No.52106237)Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province(No.YQ2022E027)。
文摘The transition of hydrogen sourcing from carbon-intensive to water-based methodologies is underway,with renewable energy-powered proton exchange membrane water electrolysis(PEMWE)emerging as the preeminent pathway for hydrogen production.Despite remarkable advancements in this field,confronting the sluggish electrochemical kinetics and inherent high-energy consumption arising from deteriorated mass transport within PEMWE systems remains a formidable obstacle.This impediment stems primarily from the hindered protons mass transfer and the untimely hydrogen bubbles detachment.To address these challenges,we harness the inherent variability of electrical energy and introduce an innovative pulsed dynamic water electrolysis system.Compared to constant voltage electrolysis(hydrogen production rate:51.6 m L h^(-1),energy consumption:5.37 kWh Nm-^(3)H_(2)),this strategy(hydrogen production rate:66 m L h^(-1),energy consumption:3.83 kWh Nm-^(3)H_(2))increases the hydrogen production rate by approximately 27%and reduces the energy consumption by about 28%.Furthermore,we demonstrate the practicality of this system by integrating it with an off-grid photovoltaic(PV)system designed for outdoor operation,successfully driving a hydrogen production current of up to 500 mA under an average voltage of approximately 2 V.The combined results of in-situ characterization and finite element analysis reveal the performance enhancement mechanism:pulsed dynamic electrolysis(PDE)dramatically accelerates the enrichment of protons at the electrode/solution interface and facilitates the release of bubbles on the electrode surface.As such,PDE-enhanced PEMWE represents a synergistic advancement,concurrently enhancing both the hydrogen generation reaction and associated transport processes.This promising technology not only redefines the landscape of electrolysis-based hydrogen production but also holds immense potential for broadening its application across a diverse spectrum of electrocatalytic endeavors.
基金supported by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia under the Research University Grant(No.GUP-2020-030)awarded to Sylvia CHIENG.
文摘Adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-binding cassette(ABC)transporter systems are divided into importers and exporters that facilitate the movement of diverse substrate molecules across the lipid bilayer,against the concentration gradient.These transporters comprise two highly conserved nucleotide-binding domains(NBDs)and two transmembrane domains(TMDs).Unlike ABC exporters,prokaryotic ABC importers require an additional substrate-binding protein(SBP)as a recognition site for specific substrate translocation.The discovery of a large number of ABC systems in bacterial pathogens revealed that these transporters are crucial for the establishment of bacterial infections.The existing literature has highlighted the roles of ABC transporters in bacterial growth,pathogenesis,and virulence.These roles include importing essential nutrients required for a variety of cellular processes and exporting outer membrane-associated virulence factors and antimicrobial substances.This review outlines the general structures and classification of ABC systems to provide a comprehensive view of the activities and roles of ABC transporters associated with bacterial virulence and pathogenesis during infection.
基金financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22109003)the Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province(2023A1515011391)+1 种基金Soft Science Research Project of Guangdong Province(No.2017B030301013)the Major Science and Technology Infrastructure Project of Material Genome Big-science Facilities Platform supported by Municipal Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen.
文摘Understanding the proton dynamic behavior in inorganic materials has long been a topic of intense fascination[1],especially in the field of electrochemical energy storage[2].One of the examples is the research of proton transport in transition metal oxides,which dates back to 1971[3]when RuO_(2) was discovered to be capable of storing protons via reversible redox reactions[4].In aqueous electrolytes,the thin film RuO_(2) electrode exhibits a surface pseudocapacitive behavior[5],which could be modified by the structural water in its hydrated form due to the facile Grotthuss hopping mode of protons along the established hydrogen bonds inside the bulk phase[6].Soon later,Goodenough et al.reported the capacitor-like behavior of amorphous MnO_(2)·xH_(2)O electrode in an aqueous KCl electrolyte[7],and further studies on the hydrated MnO_(2) electrodes prepared by sol-gel processes have soon discovered that the intercalation of protons from aqueous electrolytes plays an indispensable role in the charge storage mechanism[8].In recent years,the research interest on rechargeable aqueous batteries has fueled the renaissance of mechanistic study of proton transport in transition metal oxides[9],which can operate as cathodes or anodes via a topotactic insertion mechanism similar to that in Li-ion batteries[10].However,due to the challenges for experimental detection of local chemical environments of the inserted protons,a comprehensive understanding of proton dynamic behavior in these electrodes remains largely lacking.
文摘Facilitated transport membranes for post-combustion carbon capture are one of the technologies to achieve efficient and large-scale capture.The central principle is to utilize the affinity of CO_(2) for the carrier to achieve efficient separation and to break the Robson upper bound.This paper reviews the progress of facilitated transport membranes research regarding polymer materials,principles,and problems faced at this stage.Firstly,we briefly introduce the transport mechanism of the facilitated transport membranes.Then the research progress of several major polymers used for facilitated transport membranes for CO_(2)/N_(2) separation was presented in the past five years.Additionally,we analyze the primary challenges of facilitated transport membranes,including the influence of water,the effect of temperature,the saturation effect of the carrier,and the process configuration.Finally,we also delve into the challenges and competitiveness of facilitated transport membranes.
基金supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies at King Khalid University under research grant number(R.G.P.2/93/45).
文摘Thedeployment of the Internet of Things(IoT)with smart sensors has facilitated the emergence of fog computing as an important technology for delivering services to smart environments such as campuses,smart cities,and smart transportation systems.Fog computing tackles a range of challenges,including processing,storage,bandwidth,latency,and reliability,by locally distributing secure information through end nodes.Consisting of endpoints,fog nodes,and back-end cloud infrastructure,it provides advanced capabilities beyond traditional cloud computing.In smart environments,particularly within smart city transportation systems,the abundance of devices and nodes poses significant challenges related to power consumption and system reliability.To address the challenges of latency,energy consumption,and fault tolerance in these environments,this paper proposes a latency-aware,faulttolerant framework for resource scheduling and data management,referred to as the FORD framework,for smart cities in fog environments.This framework is designed to meet the demands of time-sensitive applications,such as those in smart transportation systems.The FORD framework incorporates latency-aware resource scheduling to optimize task execution in smart city environments,leveraging resources from both fog and cloud environments.Through simulation-based executions,tasks are allocated to the nearest available nodes with minimum latency.In the event of execution failure,a fault-tolerantmechanism is employed to ensure the successful completion of tasks.Upon successful execution,data is efficiently stored in the cloud data center,ensuring data integrity and reliability within the smart city ecosystem.
基金Supported by Romanian Ministry of Research,Innovation and Digitization,No.PN23.16.02.04 and No.31PFE/30.12.2021.
文摘BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)is an aggressive lethal malignancy with limited options for treatment and a 5-year survival rate of 11%in the United States.As for other types of tumors,such as colorectal cancer,aberrant de novo lipid synthesis and reprogrammed lipid metabolism have been suggested to be associated with PDAC development and progression.AIM To identify the possible involvement of lipid metabolism in PDAC by analyzing in tumoral and non-tumoral tissues the expression level of the most relevant genes involved in the long-chain fatty acid(FA)import into cell.METHODS A gene expression analysis of FASN,CD36,SLC27A1,SLC27A2,SLC27A3,SLC27A4,SLC27A5,ACSL1,and ACSL3 was performed by qRT-PCR in 24 tumoral PDAC tissues and 11 samples from non-tumoral pancreatic tissues obtained via fine needle aspiration or via surgical resection.The genes were considered significantly dysregulated between the groups when the p value was<0.05 and the fold change(FC)was≤0.5 and≥2.RESULTS We found that three FA transporters and two long-chain acyl-CoA synthetases genes were significantly upregulated in the PDAC tissue compared to the non-tumoral tissue:SLC27A2(FC=5.66;P=0.033),SLC27A3(FC=2.68;P=0.040),SLC27A4(FC=3.13;P=0.033),ACSL1(FC=4.10;P<0.001),and ACSL3(FC=2.67;P=0.012).We further investigated any possible association between the levels of the analyzed mRNAs and the specific characteristics of the tumors,including the anatomic location,the lymph node involvement,and the presence of metastasis.A significant difference in the expression of SLC27A3(FC=3.28;P=0.040)was found comparing patients with and without lymph nodes involvement with an overexpression of this transcript in 17 patients presenting tumoral cells in the lymph nodes.CONCLUSION Despite the low number of patients analyzed,these preliminary results seem to be promising.Addressing lipid metabolism through a broad strategy could be a beneficial way to treat this malignancy.Future in vitro and in vivo studies on these genes may offer important insights into the mechanisms linking PDAC with the long-chain FA import pathway.
基金supported by COBRE(P30GM149367)the Puerto Rico Science&Technology Trust(2022-00125)+1 种基金MBRS-RISE Program(R25 GM061838)SC1GM144032 program(all to JDM)。
文摘In addition to the loss of motor function,~60% of patients develop pain after spinal cord injury.The cellular-molecular mechanisms are not well understood,but the data suggests that plasticity within the rostral,epicenter,and caudal penumbra of the injury site initiates a cellularmolecular interplay that acts as a rewiring mechanism leading to central neuropathic pain.Sprouting can lead to the formation of new connections triggering abnormal sensory transmission.The excitatory glutamate transporters are responsible for the reuptake of extracellular glutamate which makes them a critical target to prevent neuronal hyperexcitability and excitotoxicity.Our previous studies showed a sexually dimorphic therapeutic window for spinal cord injury after treatment with the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen.In this study,we investigated the anti-allodynic effects of tamoxifen in male and female rats with spinal cord injury.We hypothesized that tamoxifen exerts anti-allodynic effects by increasing the expression of glutamate transporters,leading to reduced hyperexcitability of the secondary neuron or by decreasing aberrant sprouting.Male and female rats received a moderate contusion to the thoracic spinal cord followed by subcutaneous slow-release treatment of tamoxifen or matrix pellets as a control(placebo).We used von Frey monofilaments and the“up-down method”to evaluate mechanical allodynia.Tamoxifen treatment decreased allodynia only in female rats with spinal cord injury revealing a sexdependent effect.The expression profile of glutamatergic transporters(excitatory amino acid transporter 1/glutamate aspartate transporter and excitatory amino acid transporter 2/glutamate transporter-1)revealed a sexual dimorphism in the rostral,epicenter,and caudal areas of the spinal cord with a pattern of expression primarily on astrocytes.Female rodents showed a significantly higher level of excitatory amino acid transporter-1 expression while male rodents showed increased excitatory amino acid transporter-2 expression compared with female rodents.Analyses of peptidergic(calcitonin gene-related peptide-α)and non-peptidergic(isolectin B4)fibers outgrowth in the dorsal horn after spinal cord injury showed an increased calcitonin gene-related peptide-α/isolectin B4 ratio in comparison with sham,suggesting increased receptive fields in the dorsal horn.Although the behavioral assay shows decreased allodynia in tamoxifen-treated female rats,this was not associated with overexpression of glutamate transporters or alterations in the dorsal horn laminae fibers at 28 days post-injury.Our findings provide new evidence of the sexually dimorphic expression of glutamate transporters in the spinal cord.The dimorphic expression revealed in this study provides a therapeutic opportunity for treating chronic pain,an area with a critical need for treatment.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(12471367)。
文摘In this work,we present a parallel implementation of radiation hydrodynamics coupled with particle transport,utilizing software infrastructure JASMIN(J Adaptive Structured Meshes applications INfrastructure)which encapsulates high-performance technology for the numerical simulation of complex applications.Two serial codes,radiation hydrodynamics RH2D and particle transport Sn2D,have been integrated into RHSn2D on JASMIN infrastructure,which can efficiently use thousands of processors to simulate the complex multi-physics phenomena.Moreover,the non-conforming processors strategy has ensured RHSn2D against the serious load imbalance between radiation hydrodynamics and particle transport for large scale parallel simulations.Numerical results show that RHSn2D achieves a parallel efficiency of 17.1%using 90720 cells on 8192 processors compared with 256 processors in the same problem.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52376080 and 52306122)the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation(2308085QE174)+3 种基金the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2023TQ0346)the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF(GZC20232522)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(WK2090000057)the Students’Innovation and Entrepreneurship Foundation of USTC(CY2023C008).
文摘Lithium-oxygen batteries attract considerable attention due to exceptionally high theoretical energy density,while the development remains in its early stage.As is widely suggested,the solution mechanism induces greater discharge capacity,while the surface mechanism induces greater cycle stability.Therefore,battery performance can be improved by adjusting the reaction mechanism.Previous studies predominantly focus on extremely thin or flat electrodes.In contrast,this work utilizes thick electrodes,emphasizing the importance of mass transport.Given that the electrolyte solvent is the main site of mass transport,the effects of two typical solvents on mass transport and battery performance are investigated:dimethyl sulfoxide with low viscosity and a high O_(2) diffusion rate and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether with high O_(2) solubility and high Li+transport capability.The results reveal a novel pathway for reaction mechanism induction where the mechanism varies with the spatial position of the electrode.As the spatial distribution of the electrode progresses,a layered appearance of solution mechanism products,transition state products,and surface mechanism products emerges,which is attributed to the increase in the mass transfer resistance.This work presents a distinct perspective on the way solvents influence reaction pathways and offers a new approach to regulating reaction pathways.
基金supported by the Program of Ministry of Science and Technology of China(No.2023YFB2504200)support of Shanghai Rising-Star Program(Grant No.24QB2703200)the Major Science and Technology Projects of Yunnan Province(No.202302AH360001).
文摘Mesoporous carbon supports mitigate platinum(Pt)sulfonic poisoning through nanopore-confined Pt deposition,yet their morphological impacts on oxygen transport remain unclear.This study integrates carbon support morphology simulation with an enhanced agglomerate model to establish a mathematical framework elucidating pore evolution,Pt utilization,and oxygen transport in catalyst layers.Results demonstrate dominant local mass transport resistance governed by three factors:(1)active site density dictating oxygen flux;(2)ionomer film thickness defining shortest transport path;(3)ionomer-to-Pt surface area ratio modulating practical pathway length.At low ionomer-to-carbon(I/C)ratios,limited active sites elevate resistance(Factor 1 dominant).Higher I/C ratios improve the ionomer coverage but eventually thicken ionomer films,degrading transport(Factors 2–3 dominant).The results indicate that larger carbon particles result in a net increase in local transport resistance by reducing external surface area and increasing ionomer thickness.As the proportion of Pt situated in nanopores or the Pt mass fraction increases,elevated Pt density inside the nanopores exacerbates pore blockage.This leads to the increased transport resistance by reducing active sites,and increasing ionomer thickness and surface area.Lower Pt loading linearly intensifies oxygen flux resistance.The model underscores the necessity to optimize support morphology,Pt distribution,and ionomer content to prevent pore blockage while balancing catalytic activity and transport efficiency.These insights provide a systematic approach for designing high-performance mesoporous carbon catalysts.
基金Partially supported by Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province(Nos.KYCX22-2211,KYCX22-2205)。
文摘In this paper,we prove the transportation cost-information inequalities on the space of continuous paths with respect to the L~2-metric and the uniform metric for the law of the mild solution to the stochastic heat equation defined on[0,T]×[0,1]driven by double-parameter fractional noise.
